FOXBOROUGH – You always know that it’s going to lead to an awkward moment with Bill Belichick when he drafts a player who can’t be found in a draft guide or the scouting combine invite list.

So it was no surprise that Patriots coach Bill Belichick was less than enthusiastic about explaining his decision to pick little known Rutgers safety Duron Harmon during the third round of Friday’s NFL Draft.

“Thought it was a good value when we took him,” Belichick said. “I don’t know how the other teams have their board stacked or anything else.”

But even the Harmon family didn’t have Duron’s name inserted in the third round. He knew that the Patriots had interest in him from his various interactions with the team, but he thought his chance would come in a later round or as an undrafted free agent.

He was watching the draft with his mother, Dawn, his little sister and two of his friends. He just got done cheering his friend and teammate Logan Ryan’s name, who was drafted by New England a few spots earlier in the second round.

“I was watching as a fan,” Harmon explained.

His name was called. He laughed. The analysts were caught off guard. Mike Mayock called the pick a reach. The NFL Network had video packages prepared for 700 players. ESPN 320. There were no highlights shown on whatever channel the Harmons were watching, and Dawn Harmon wasn’t happy.

“She was like, ‘Oooh, my baby … where’s your clips at,’” Harmon explained. “I was like, ‘Mommy, I don’t think they knew I was going today, so I don’t think they had any ready.’ She was a little upset about me not having clips.”

Now Harmon is going to try to create a new set of clips that people will be forced to pay attention to. Belichick is confident in his ability to do so, and Ryan has no doubt that his former college teammate will continue doing all the great things that everyone missed the first time around.

In fact, Ryan almost seemed offended when it was suggested to him that the Harmon situation was considered a reach. Ryan cited Harmon’s measurables (6-foot-1, 200 pounds), his speed, work ethic and intangibles, and the fact that he was two-time All Big East selection. Added together, in Ryan’s mind, there’s no doubt that Harmon was worthy of a third-round pick.

Furthermore, the guy that was being classified as a reach on TV was the same guy that pushed him to be better.

“He allowed me to play aggressive – when you have a great safety behind you – much like how Devin McCourty is for the Patriots, it allows your corners to play a lot more aggressive and that’s something that Duron did,” Ryan said. “He is a great ball-hawk in center field and helped us get a lot of turnovers.”

And maybe that connection is what made Belichick view them as a package deal. It also didn’t hurt that guys like McCourty and Justin Francis, who also went to Rutgers, spoke up on their behalf.

“I think we're getting some high quality guys there as well as good football players,” Belichick said.

Maybe the rest of couldn’t see it on the non-existent tape, but Belichick did.